With account hacks/keylogs being a topic of much discussion, I wanted to recap what happened to me this past weekend…
It was a dark and stormy night… Ok it wasn’t stormy, but it was dark – I went out last night for Margaritas with some friends, and we found out one of them plays wow… we all wind up back at my place, so my friend Anthony asks if he can see my account. Sure.
I try logging in, put my authenticator password in… Invalid.
I chuckle, and try again.
Invalid.
Invalid.
I try to log into Account Management.
Invalid.
I try to log into the Blizzard Forums.
Invalid.
…. fuck.
I check the armory hoping my character is still clothed. She is. /phew
I send Avalonna a text asking her to check if my toon is online. She texts back saying she’d check and let me know.
“Nope, not online.”
I’m sitting there thinking, “I know when you change your password you get an email letting you know you changed your password.” (I did it just the other day)…. yet I have no email.
Let’s try one more time, and then I’ll call customer support tomorrow morning. Boom. I get in. Hmm… is it really unlikely that after several pitchers of margaritas that I can’t type a password…. apparently so.
Friends don’t let friends drink and try to type in passwords.
While, my story is funny – there are other stories that do not end this way. They end with naked gnomes with not a copper to their name, and guild banks plundered… both of those things are very scary!
EVERYONE SHOULD GET AN AUTHENTICATOR. Period. The end. One of the more recent tactics of compromised accounts, is that the Hacker immediately puts an authenticator on the account. What this does, is that it makes it even more difficult for you to get your account back since you can’t even log in and change the password back. Most smartphones have the ability to download the Blizzard Authenticator for free or for a nominal charge – and I urge everyone to get one.
Yes, typically you need to do something to get hacked – be that a phishing scam, going to unscrupulous sites, downloading things from non-official webpages, using powerleveling services, etc. However, it is not unheard of that people who do not do any of these still sometimes fall victim to keyloggers. You hear that excuse quite often: “Well I don’t go to weird sites and click ads or links.” or “I don’t watch Furry porn and type in my password there.” or “Those fake Beta Cataclysm emails go straight into my trash bin.” Be that as it may, you still can be hacked! These keyloggers are tricky… they don’t simply have a big banner ad that reads: “I’m loggin ur keyz!”
Blizzard recently launched their Account Security page, which does a fairly good overview about how to keep your account safe.
That being said, Tales of a Priest will be giving a Blzzard Authenticator away!! (Canada and US players only). To enter into this contest simply send an email to contests(at)talesofapriest.com with your characters name, realm, and a quick note! We’ll be picking a winner at random on Noon EST February 7th, 2010! Good luck!
